Technical assistance calls for grantees are held every other Thursday from 2 to 3 PM EST. The schedule for December appears below. To register, search for summaries or materials from prior calls, or download materials for upcoming calls, please go to the CAP Website: www.capcommunity.hrsa.gov. Please remember that the site is password protected. Grantees should contact their primary contact to receive the password. Once you register for the call, please be sure to download the materials that will be used during the call. You should immediately receive a confirmation note by email that includes the call-in number for the call. If you have difficulty registering or do not receive the call-in number, please contact scampbell@mac1988.com or call 301-468-6006 x437.

With the exception of calls related to legal issues, many TA calls are summarized and posted on the CAP website (www.capcommunity.hrsa.gov). Legal issue briefs are posted on the site under legal issues and require a password, which may be obtained by emailing Sherilyn Adams (sadams@hrsa.gov). You may also request an audiotape copy of any previous calls (up to one month after the call) by contacting Shandy Campbell at the email above. 

Congratulations to CAP Grantee Griffin Health Services Corporation! On October 9, 2002, HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced the selection of Griffin Health Services Corporation as a new National Community Centers of Excellence in Women's Health (CCOEs). The CCOE program provides recognition and resources to community-based programs that unite promising approaches in women's health. Griffin's program coordinates all aspects of issues related to women's health throughout the life span and is designed to address the cultural and socioeconomic challenges to quality health care for underserved women. Executive Director Susan Rosen noted that the CAP collaborative played an integral role in achieving this recognition by bringing area health and human service partners together to improve overall health infrastructures. Another Griffin achievement is VAMS, an electronic referral system that now has the ability to refer patients to 27 partner organizations. Griffin also works closely with MCAP, their peer CAP community in Middlesex, Connecticut to share expertise on eligibility and enrollment systems. Visit the Griffin website at: www.valleyhealthaccess.org.

The Brooklyn Alliance to Strengthen the Safety Net held multiple Women's Initiative events in October to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness month in their ongoing efforts to improve the health care status of Brooklynites. As part of this initiative, they sponsored a team of key organizations within their coalition to participate in the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk that took place on Sunday, October 20, 2002 at Prospect Park. Their group of 29 walkers together raised approximately $4000 for this event! A membership to a partner YMCA was awarded for raising the most money for the team and a raffle with prizes donated by local vendors was also held. A successful Women's Health Forum series for the Council of Pakistan Organization was also conducted. Sessions were well attended and included discussions on breast cancer, diabetes and asthma with talks given by representatives from the American Cancer Society and Health Plus.

The Pima Community Access Program (PCAP) recently received significant media coverage! Both Inside Tucson Business and The Arizona Daily Star highlighted PCAP's work to link uninsured, low-income Pima County residents with an affordable, comprehensive and coordinated network of health care providers. The project represents an unprecedented effort of Tucson's top health care organizations and community leaders who have joined forces in the development of the unique program. It is hosted and coordinated by Tucson's El Rio Santa Cruz Neighborhood Health Center.

Highlighted achievements include seven area clinics, six hospitals and over 600 private health care providers that have joined in providing affordable health care services to over 3,000 PCAP members enrolled to date. To learn more about PCAP's coverage model, visit http://www.pcap.cc/.

Deadline: January 22, 2003

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has announced that approximately $4 million in 2003 funds is expected to be available for 24 grants to public and private organizations for community collaborations to prevent youth violence and promote youth development. Grants will range between $150,000 and $200,00 per year for two years. Funding is dependant on Congress' enactment of SAMHSA's appropriation when the new session convenes. For more information, visit: www.healthinschools.org/2002/nov26b_alert.asp

Deadline: Rolling

CAP staff began discussions with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) at the Department of Transportation almost two years ago to provide additional funds and technical assistance to CAP communities seeking to adopt new transportation technologies to enhance access to health care. FTA has committed a portion of the funds for CAP communities, so we urge you to apply and to do so quickly. Further information and request for grant proposals may be viewed at: http://www.fta.dot.gov/research/fleet/its/otrfp.html . Technical questions or concerns may be directed to Mr. Ronald Boenau or Mr. William Wiggins via phone at 202-366-4995 or via e-mail at Rural.RFP@fta.dot.gov.

Deadline: Rolling throughout 2002

The American Legacy Foundation has announced it will make one-year non-renewable grants of up to $50,000 each for programs that reduce and prevent harmful effects of tobacco use on women and families. The new grants are part of a larger effort, "Circle of Friends: Women Unite to Be Smoke-Free." For guidelines and more information, visit www.americanlegacy.org.

In September 2001, HRSA embarked on a three year program to improve the Third Party Reimbursement (TPR) status of HRSA grantees and subgrantees. HRSA has contracted with a team of experts to provide TPR training and technical assistance to HRSA grantees in each state. The focus of the TPR training will be to improve existing operational, business, and billing systems to allow grantees in each state to fully claim allowable reimbursements under the state Medicaid plan, S-CHIP, and other available sources of third party reimbursement. Following the training, HRSA grantees and subgrantees will be able to access technical assistance services from the HRSA contractor. The technical assistance will include written and online materials, telephone consultations, and on-site visits by a team of experts.   

The schedule, location and brochures of upcoming day and a half training sessions can be found on www.hrsa.gov/tpr (Click on "Training"). Please Note : Participation is limited but there is no registration fee. For questions, contact the Third Party Reimbursement Project at: tpr@hrsa.gov or (301) 443-1516.

AcademyHealth, a professional organization for health services research, offers live Cyber Seminars in Health Services Research Methods to enable health services researchers, policy analysts, and other public health practitioners the opportunity to learn about existing and cutting-edge research methods from the experts without leaving their home or office. Utilizing web and telephone connections, these two-hour interactive seminars feature real-time Q & A, polling, and the potential for live data manipulation by faculty. They are also good for training groups. Audio and web-based seminars are offered during the first and second weeks in November and December, 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. EST.

Upcoming session topics for the live seminars include: Friday, November 8, 2002: Hierarchical Modeling; Thursday, November 14, 2002: Using Focus Groups in Your Research: Basic Techniques, Challenging Issues and Practical Tips; Thursday, December 5, 2002: The Quality Toolbox; Thursday, December 12, 2002: Qualitative Data Analysis as an Attractive Nuisance. For more information or to register, visit: http://www.academyhealth.org/seminars/.

January 13-18, 2003 San Francisco, CA

The Evaluators' Institute offers short-term professional development courses for practicing evaluators. Registration is now open for the next Institute program, which will be held January 13-18, 2003 in San Francisco, California. Eighteen courses are scheduled, covering a variety of topics such as: The Basics of Program Evaluation, Outcome and Impact Assessment, Participatory, and Collaborative & Other Alternative Approaches to Qualitative Inquiry and Implementation Analysis. To learn more about the Institute, find out how to register, and determine if you qualify for a discount or scholarship, visit www.EvaluatorsInstitute.com.

A new report from The Commonwealth Fund, Cultural Competence in Health Care: Emerging Frameworks and Practical Approaches, spotlights a diverse group of health care organizations striving to improve access and quality of care for a growing minority and immigrant population. According to the report, these organizations are working to dismantle the cultural and communication barriers to good health care through innovative programs that develop minority leadership, promote community involvement, and increase awareness of the social and cultural factors that affect health beliefs and behaviors. The report also provides a comprehensive framework for health care organizations seeking to address cultural barriers in health care delivery. It follows recommendations from the Institute of Medicine report, Unequal Treatment, highlighting cultural competence as part of a comprehensive effort to address racial and ethnic disparities in health care. To read, download, or order the report visit: http://www.cmwf.org/publist/publist2.asp?CategoryID=11).

According to new research published in the November/December issue of Health Affairs, uninsured patients who get their care at Community Health Centers (CHCs) are less likely than insured CHC patients to get needed diagnostic, specialty, and behavioral health care services such as mammograms, cardiology, and psychiatric care. The report, Exploring the Limits of the Safety Net: Community Health Centers and Care for the Uninsured is based on findings from a survey of executive directors and medical directors at 20 urban and rural CHCs in 10 states. The study highlights the increasing strain placed on resources and staff as CHCs try to stretch limited primary care budgets to serve uninsured patients and others in their communities in the absence of expanded health insurance coverage. For more information or to order the report visit: http://www.healthaffairs.org/1100_table_contents.php#healthtracking.

Evaluation Focus

Looking for additional program evaluation resources? The following sites may assist you in your search:  

• The CDC's Framework for Program Evaluation of Public Health Programs provides a strong resource on operating principles for the improvement of public health activity planning and management. The Framework can be accessed at: http://www.cdc.gov/eval/framework.htm. CDC also offers a video course, workbooks and other training resources.

• The Public Health Foundation's distance learning clearinghouse, www.TrainingFinder.org, lists over 650 online public health courses. A keyword search on "program evaluation" will pull up several available distance-learning courses on the topic.

• The Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET) in partnership with the American Hospital Association (AHA) operates a web-based outcomes network toolkit that can be accessed at: http://www.act-toolkit.com/ The program offers various community health and human services organizations a tool for evidence-based planning, collaboration, action and analysis, and uses a logic model approach to organizing a program plan or evaluation.

National Education Statistics

The National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data (CCD) has just completed a major redesign of their website. CCD is a comprehensive, annual, national statistical database of information concerning all public elementary and secondary schools (approximately 95,000) and school districts (approximately 17,000). The CCD contains useful data in databases and downloadable files such as numbers of students eligible for free lunch, schools participating in Title I programs, and other data. For more information visit: http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/.